BACKMAN LEADS SOUND TIGERS TO 4-1 WIN

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Dec. 29, 2012) - Sean
Backman’s two goals proved to be the difference as the Bridgeport Sound
Tigers defeated the Manchester Monarchs 4-1 at Webster Bank Arena.
Anders Nilsson made 31 saves in goal for the Sound Tigers, have won all
three matchups against the Monarchs this season by a combined score of
13-3. The Sound Tigers have won three straight overall dating back to
Dec. 26, and improve to 16-12-1-2 (35 points). With the loss, the
Monarchs drop to 14-14-2-2 (32 points).

After the game, Sound Tigers Head Coach Scott Pellerin commented on the team’s success against Manchester this season.

“We want to play
with that same style and energy that we did tonight,” Pellerin said.
“We’ve played well in the three games against Manchester. Tonight they
pushed back and put us against a wall, but Anders was able to keep the
puck out of the net.”

With the score
tied 1-1 late in the middle frame, Backman scored to give the Sound
Tigers a 2-1 lead. Chad Costello made a pass from behind the Manchester
goal to Mike Halmo, whose shot from down low was stopped by Manchester
goalie Martin Jones. The rebound pinballed off a Monarchs defenseman
and Backman swooped in and found the open net at 17:30.

Backman, inserted
into the game in place of the suspended Brett Gallant, took advantage
of the opportunity to play for the first time since Dec. 19, lighting
the lamp twice. The winger had one goal and three assists in 23 games
before Saturday.

“I guess you could
say my legs were rested,” Backman said. “I felt good out there. I try
to work hard every night I’m out on the ice and chip in where I can.
Tonight, luckily I had two.”

Just over a minute
later, Casey Cizikas’ ninth goal of the season made the score 3-1.
Cizikas received a saucer pass from Brandon DeFazio during a 2-on-1
attack and had a clean path to the Monarchs goal. His shot beat Jones
five-hole, giving the Sound Tigers a 3-1 lead heading into the third.

Fourteen of Nilsson’s 31 saves came during the third period, when the Sound Tigers were playing with the lead.

“Anders needed a
game like that,” Pellerin said. “Manchester is a high-skilled hockey
team. They’re probably one of the better teams we’ve seen this year in
regard to making plays off the rush. It really caused us some problems.
They had some Grade A chances in the slot that Anders was able to make
first and second saves, so it was a big night for him. I’m happy for
his performance.”

Backman opened the
scoring just 1:39 into the first period. After taking a pass off the
boards from Halmo, the second-year Sound Tiger skated down the left
wing and backhanded the puck from a hard angle over Jones’ shoulder.
The Monarchs countered seven minutes later when Tyler Toffoli one-timed
a centering feed past Nilsson to make the score 1-1.

Bridgeport entered
Saturday night’s game with 756 penalty minutes, more than any team in
the American Hockey League, but stayed out of the penalty box until
5:06 of the third period when Nilsson was called for slashing. The
Sound Tigers killed off the ensuing man advantage, and have held
opponents scoreless in 26-of-27 power plays dating back to Dec. 15 at
Norfolk.

Skating on a man
advantage with a 3-1 lead midway through the third, Nino Niederreiter
redirected a Ty Wishart shot over Jones’ right shoulder for his
team-leading 16th tally of the season, giving the Sound Tigers a
three-goal cushion.

The Sound Tigers
play their last game of the 2012 calendar year on Monday, Dec. 31, when
they travel to Glens Falls, NY to take on the Adirondack Phantoms. Puck
drop is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.

Notes:
The Monarchs outshot the Sound Tigers 32-29 … The Sound Tigers were
called for just one penalty, their lowest single-game total of the
2012-13 season … The previous low was six … The Sound Tigers rank third
in the AHL at 21.1% on the power play, and fourth in the AHL at home
with a 23.9% success rate at Webster Bank Arena … Defenseman Dallas
Jackson, who was signed earlier in the day to a PTO, made his AHL
season debut after appearing in 31 games with the ECHL’s Gwinnett
Gladiators